Language as dialect, language and gender in the classroom - Essay Example

Language as dialect, language and gender in the room Language as dialect Evaluation of a system of communication depends upon power and politics. It is imperative to note that pronunciation, accent, grammar and vocabulary, as well as the spoken and written human languages vary from the linguistic anthropological point of view. However, from the linguistic perspective, individuals who speak a language, uses it as a an effective tool for communication. Language as a dialect is evaluated and categorized based on the political power of a nation, media, state, or in terms of the society’s stratification (128).

Language and gender in classroomThe phenomenon of gender is such a great component of the social and cultural existence of humans that it is almost impossible to talk, interrelate and make judgments on others in the society without first classifying them under a certain category of gender- either male or female (Eckert and McConnell-Ginet (15). Eckert and McConnell-Ginet (10) in the definition of genders as a social construction reveal that this is the manner in which the society is able to carry out the sets of procedures that constitute the differentiation of the gender categories.

Despite the fact that biological and physiological construction has a propensity to impact the male and female individuals in society, the perception of gender as a socially constructed phenomenon perceived such differences as being social in nature. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet (22) indicates that the cultural differences between boys and girls are enforced in different levels based on the societies from which they come. The children of different genders then indicate a preference for same-sex companies and circle.

It is in these same-sex groupings that the boy and girl children begin to behave differently, acquire different perspectives of life and develop discrepant verbal cultures. The manner in which male and female individuals comprehend interrelations is very discrepant, and most times, they are ignorant of such differences. Moreover the males and females tend to suppose that the function from a similar understanding. It is such ignorance and presupposition that fuels gender- founded miscommunication (Eckert and McConnell-Ginet 24).

The main point of concern for feminist linguistics is the depiction of language and gender as a social and cultural construction. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet (18) point out that voice is a very important component of language and gender. From the time, they are aged 4-5 years old, children from either sex start to make a distinction between the basic frequencies, which characterizes the voices they use to speak. While girls incline towards raising their voices and spreading their lips as they talk, boys tend to lower their voices, elongate their coal tracts and round and widen their lips as they talk (Eckert and McConnell-Ginet 18).

Kaemmerer (1) points out that there are a number of presuppositions that underlie feminist linguistics. One such assumption is that women, as well as the language that is commonly utilized by females, are a consequence male-dominance. This implies that language is perceived as being gender-centered and sexist- prejudiced against women. Feminist linguistic also presupposes that social gender is usually depicted in typecast perceptions of gender functions.There are a number of examples that have been quoted by feminist linguists to depict the manner in which language, specifically English, is sexist in character.

The first instance is in English morphology. English morphology is perceived as being sexist due to the fact that the male is perceived as the base or norm while the female is depicted as atypical or nonstandard (Kaemmerer 2). Most female references have male words as their base for example: Host-Hostess, Emperor-empress and Hero-Heroine. The endings or suffixes added to the male words so as to form female ones are perceived as denoting a sense of lack of sobriety. In a majority of instances, the English language also tends to perceive female forms as invisible and makes use of male references as being inclusive of female.

Kaemmerer (2) further states that the sexist nature of the English language is also depicted in the language’s metaphors associated with males and females. The metaphorical references towards men are usually positive connotations of strength, courage and bravery for example: A stallion of a man or a stud. Women, on the other hand are described by food terms such as honey or sweetie. In extreme cases women are denoted by use of weak, helpless of ridiculous connotations such as baby or chick.

Such sexist connotations in the English language can be corrected by use of neutral gender terms or neutral pronouns.Works CitedEckert, Penelope and McConnell-Ginet, Sally. Language and Gender. Cambridge University, (2003).Eckert, Penelope and McConnell-Ginet, Sally. Communities for Practice: Where Language, Gender and Power all Live, In Kira Hall, Mary Buchiltz and Birch Moonwomon eds., Locating Power. Proceedings of the Berkeley Women and Language Conference, (1992).Kaemmerer, Susanne. Language and Society.

Language and gender 1: WS 2012/2013, 2013.